The Employment Lawyers Association has elected Paul McFarlane, employment partner at Capsticks Solicitors LLP, as its new chair for 2022-24, with the appointment taking effect from 20 September 2022.
McFarlane becomes the first chair of ELA with African-Caribbean heritage, and as part of his mandate, is keen to ensure that ELA plays its part in raising awareness of the need for diversity, race equality and inclusion in the profession.
He has been deputy chair of the association for the last two years, following four years as chair of its Legislative and Policy Committee. He will take over the reins from the current ELA chair Marian Bloodworth, partner at Deloitte Legal , who was elected to the post in 2020.
McFarlane’s particular expertise is in advising clients in the emergency services sector, particularly on complex and high value discrimination and whistleblowing claims. He also has extensive experience advising on industrial relations law, having previously spent time in Transport for London and Royal Mail’s in-house legal departments advising on these issues. More recently Paul has conducted several grievance investigations into allegations of historic racial discrimination for various clients of his firm.
After paying tribute to the work carried out by Bloodworth in the role during the worst of the Covid pandemic, McFarlane said he felt “proud and privileged” to be elected into the post. He reflected that Bloodworth had also had to deal with the immediate aftermath of Brexit and with considerable political volatility.
He added: “We continue to be in turbulent political waters, with much uncertainty about the direction that employment law will take. During my term as chair I look forward to working with the new Management Committee to ensure that ELA continues to have a key role in supporting the work and interests of its members, and in promoting the best practice of employment law, in accordance with our aims. Also, like Marian, I am keen to ensure that ELA plays its part in raising awareness of the ongoing need to address diversity and inclusion, particularly in the area of racial equality, which continues to be an issue for employers and employees alike in the UK.”
McFarlane is also a board director of the Black Solicitors Network and was named Minority Lawyer of the Year 2019 by Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Europe, for his work in trying to improve diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and beyond. Paul also sits as an external assessor for the College of Policing and on the appointment panel for IMPRESS, a press regulator.
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